Jean-Baptiste-Édouard Detaille

(1848-1912)

Édouard Detaille was born in Paris in 1848.  His first love was the military that led to his serving in the Franco-Russian war of 1870-1871. He liked the military life, and that ultimately became the main subject of his work. He became famous for his paintings of battle scenes, portraits of soldiers, and his overall depiction of military life. His style was notable for its precision and realistic detail. He maintained accuracy of his paintings by using  photography, a relatively new process, along with military documents. He was a student of the great Jean-Louis-Ernest Meissonier.

The Talent of Detaille is summed up in a quote from M. Henri Houssaye:

"Detaille is the Desgoffe of military-painting.  He recalls to us that famous general of a former time, who said on the eve of a campaign, 'We are ready, quite ready; not a gaiter-button is missing!'  The soldiers of Detaille are of this sort. Their equipment is complete, the cuirasses are well polished, and the horses conscientiously curried. Not a grain of dust!  The hairs are smoothed according to rule, and the packages all in order!  Not a gaiter-button is missing, but the soldier is wanting in character, in movement, and in life!"

 Suggested Reading
(click on the title for ordering information)

From Monet to Cezanne:

Late 19th Century French Artists

  By Turner, Jane

 The late 19th century in France represents an extraordinary period of artistic achievement in the history of Western art.

The successive artistic revolutions of Realism, Impressionism, and Post-Impressionism are here charted through more than 300 biographies of the most important painters,sculptors, and graphic artists of the time. (from review)